Upon graduation, our medical students take this Hippocratic oath.
"I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:
I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of over treatment and therapeutic nihilism...
I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick...
I if I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter..."
Next time whenever your Doctor prescribes you a medicine, please do not have the misconception that it is for curing your disease.That medicine may be for pleasure trip for your Doctor and his family OR/AND sponsorship for your Doctor's Master's course in some foreign Medical Institute OR/AND Doctor's conference bill arranged at some 5 Star Hotel etc etc etc.Pharmaceutical companies have a separate budget for promotion of their products(Promotion means they have to influence your Doctor to prescribe medicines of their company to you and your family members).You may ask whats wrong as long as you are not paying anything extra and your Doctor also enjoys some privileges.The reality is the entire cost is borne by you and patients like you. Your doctor can prescribe a paracetamol which will cost Rs 20 instead of Rs 1.This cost variation is applicable not only to Paracetamol, but to each and every medicine prescribed for each and every disease. Some doctors and Pharma companies may argue that branded (costly) medicines are more effective. But several studies have found that generic drugs are as effective as branded drugs.A study was conducted by Annals of Internal Medicine in the year 2000 which suggests that whether you buy a tablet for Rs 20 or Rs 1, the effect on patient is same.Visit http://www.annals.org/content/142/11/891.fullfor the report of this study. Studies suggest that large percentage of Indian population fall into BPL category because of huge medical expenditure. When near and dear ones fall sick, whether poor or rich try their level best to save the lives and at that point we do not apply their mind. Since we do not apply our mind, our family doctor can go to Mauritius along with his family whereas our maid has stopped sending her children to school because she has spent the children's school fees money on getting costly medicines for her ailing husband.
I met one of my friend who owned a Pharmacy shop recently and asked him how is his business going. He told that he has closed the shop and has started cycle repair shop. I was surprised and asked him the reason for closing the shop. He told, " Nowadays Doctors have become too greedy.These Doctors have opened Pharmacies in their clinics or hospitals, so that they get the Full Share of Profit which earlier was shared between Pharmacists and Doctors".
If pharmaceutical company is one source of money for Doctors, Diagnostic labs are another big source of money. I know a renowned Physician in Chennai who makes it a point that his patients do periodic scans only from Bharat Scans.He does not accept report of any other Labs.MRI, CT Scan, Doppler Scan, 64 Slice CT Angio,3D Multi Slice CT etc etc etc are often prescribed by your Doctor to be done by a particular Scan Centre even if you go with fever.The reason is, he gets on an average 50% as commission. Next time when you visit a scan centre, you kindly note that the receptionist will with utmost sincerity note down the name and address of the Doctor who referred you.
Still there are Doctors whose one and only concern is the health of their patients and who are guided by ethics of Hippocrates and consider their profession as a noble one.Unfortunately they are very few in number and are far outnumbered by Satans who call themselves as professionals.Who will take action against these unethical Doctors.They are backed by powerful pharmaceutical lobby. Whether Indian Judiciary which was the final savior in many issues will step in and do a surgery of this unethical medical system...If Hippocrates would have been alive , he would have used his surgical knife not to operate his patients but to ...
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Hoping not only to remember but also practice the sayings of BC 460 born individual is as silly as it can get when Gandhi whose origin is less than 200 years and was in flesh & blood in this very country.
ReplyDeleteThere are two sides to any coin and the other side here is we the common people particularly of Indian origin who will put up with anything.
The root cause of all the Indian problems is IGNORANCE / ILLITRACY.
Now its a moot point why have we not made any progress on this despite 60th year of the Republice and one Sanjay Gandhi
Vijay Iyer
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ReplyDeleteSorry Reuben, your comment got deleted accidently.You are 100% right.I fully agree with you that we dont bother because we have medical insurance.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of what you have to say. However, awareness is what is lacking in most of us.
ReplyDeleteMany people I know "consult" the pharmacist. Whenever I visit a pharmacy I hear people listing their complaints to the pharmacist and he prescribes the remedy.
We also do not care to check the credentials of the doctor we are consulting or at least ask people who might know. Most often we consult doctors who are closest to our home or office or doctors who are of the same religion or caste which is another dangerous trend.
Private colleges are churning out incompetent doctors who have paid hefty sums for admission and those of them who stay back in the country after their graduation need to earn back their investment.
Corporate hospitals that have mushroomed all over the country need to satisfy their investors and hence adopt unethical practices.
Corruption plagues our regulators and many of our law makers themselves own medical colleges and hospitals.
We can't change everything overnight but we can only save ourselves by being more aware and spreading awareness among people.
Mahesh you are absolutely right. Medical system has been commercialised and doctors want to get return on their investment. As you rightly said, many of our regulators are also promoters of Corporate Hospitals which has further aggravated the problem.
ReplyDeleteI completly aggree.I would also like to add the problem of the fake drugs in the market.
ReplyDeleteActually this kind of manipulation exists not only in medical field but in all the fields...ex..law n order,education why ppl are even manipulated in the name of God.shame that even educated ppl fall in this trap.
And this dangerous trend will continue until awareness is brought in whole among ppl in a long run.
Yes you are right, fake drugs pose a bigger threat. Fake drugs have not even left childrens segment. Eventhough laws are stringent on fake drugs, enforcement is not proper. As per WHO report, around 25% medicines available in Indian Market are fake. Its reallly alarming.
ReplyDeleteSatans or not ! All the defects and ill-wills of the system considered, A late but "my 2 cent worth" comment/ post. I visited the Amish people settlement in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, USA, a couple of miles from one of the largest Factory Outlets.
ReplyDeleteThe Amish, as known widely, are people who live in a community with no intervention from the modern world. NO - TEL./VEHICLES/ELECTR./MONEY ETC. They live on the barter system wherein each person contributes on a daily basis to the community through their own skill and "earn" their bread/shelter/clothing this way.
Without delving further, their natural and selfless lifestyle literally ensures their well being and good health in a country that is obsessed and strewn with all-you-can-eat medicines/energy bars/make-overs/plastic surgery/obesity etc.
Now we cant live like the Amish (believe me, i've experienced it first hand). But we can always choose to be a little more sedate (from a health standpoint only :)) in our lifestyle to go through life unaffected by the vagaries of the medical system.
I agree with you Amalan.
ReplyDeleteyou are right doctors who were once believed to be life savers and treated as god today are turning out to be the demons who do not hesitate to even kill their own patient. this dangerous trend is seen in every field. specially lawyers who are trusted to fight for justice have ignored to listen to their voice of conscience and are desperate enough to face failures for money. As we always end up by saying awareness, literacy etc can help to sort out these problems, but i think you wont disagree with the fact that these malpractices are done by the so called educated persons also who are powerful too. what i personally feel is that today people are much aware and alert by the happenings all around and educated also what is missing is "humanity" the qualities of mankind. we may be a successful man but not a human being in true sense. therefore, i feel it shud be thought seriously after all these doctors and lawyers are one amongst us.
ReplyDeleteI agree Anita.
ReplyDelete